Elysian Hotel in Chicago named best hotel in U.S. by Conde Nast Traveler

The courtyard at the entrance to the Elysian Hotel in Chicago. Photo courtesy Elysian

Conde Nast Traveler magazine has named Chicago’s Elysian Hotel the best hotel in the U.S. in its Readers Choice awards for 2011.

The 188-room property opened just two years ago in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood, and is close to the Magnificent Mile shopping district and just steps away from exclusive boutiques like Hermes and Harry Winston on Oak Street.

At 11 E. Walton St., the building designed by architect Lucien Lagrange, features an exterior European courtyard that is welcoming and grand.

The hotel’s dining options include Balsan, a European style bistro, and Ria, a Michelin two-star fine-dining establishment. A 14,000-square-foot spa and health club offers a menu of services but also provides a fitness center with Pilates studio. Hotel guests enjoy complimentary access to the facility that includes a mosaic-tiled lap pool, whirlpools, saunas and steam rooms. The hotel describes its bar, Bernard’s, as reminiscent of a plush, private club in keeping with the Coco Chanel-inspired aesthetic of the Elysian.

The hotel has a no-tipping policy, a rarity among luxury properties. For more information about the Elysian, visit the hotel’s website at elysianhotels.com.

Chicago also made the Reader’s Choice list, coming in at No. 4 in the top 10 U.S. cities listing, besting Honolulu and New York, but trailing Charleston, S.C., San Francisco and Santa Fe, in the top three spots respectively.